Homelessness
Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:27): My question is for the Premier. In 2016 the federal census counted 24,817 Victorians who were experiencing homelessness. At the last census in 2021 that number had risen to 30,660, a staggering 24 per cent increase. Since that time homelessness support services have reported record increases in demand for their services. Premier, to what extent has homelessness worsened since Labor was elected?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:27): I thank the member for Ringwood for his question. There is no doubt that in Victoria and indeed around the nation we are seeing more people in our community become increasingly vulnerable, and we know there are a range of different reasons that can lead people in our community to become homeless for either a period of time or an extended period of time. That is why one way to address the great challenge – and it is a deeply challenging issue to support people who are experiencing homelessness to get back into a stable, secure housing environment – is to build more homes. That is the start, but it is certainly not the end of the work that needs to be done, because in supporting people who are homeless, part of it is getting them back into a home but part of it is also addressing the reason why people are experiencing homelessness. That could be for a range of reasons. They could be people experiencing drug and alcohol addiction and needing drug and alcohol supports. We know that women over the age of 55 are the single fastest growing group of people in our community who experience homelessness, which is why alongside the member for Ashwood I visited a development in his community last year.
Will Fowles: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was directed to what extent homelessness has worsened since Labor was elected. The Premier has not in any way addressed that question.
The SPEAKER: A point of order, member for Ringwood, is not an opportunity to repeat the question.
Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, the Premier was being entirely relevant to the question, which talked to homelessness and Commonwealth government programs, and I ask that you rule the point of order out of order.
The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant. I cannot direct the Premier how to answer the question. She was being relevant.
Jacinta ALLAN: I remind the member for Ringwood that I absolutely acknowledged at the outset that the statistics demonstrate that the challenge of homelessness has become more challenging here, like it has around the country, understanding the reasons why people are experiencing homelessness in greater numbers. Before the member for Ringwood got to his feet on the point of order, I was referring to the work we are doing to particularly support women. The fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness is women over the age of 55, which is why through our Big Housing Build investments, like we have made in Ashwood, we have worked with the community housing sector not just to provide a roof over the heads of women in this group but to ensure that there are those wraparound supports to ensure that they remain in this secure, stable housing environment. It is why the work we do through our Big Housing Build is just so important, particularly where we partner with the community housing sector, who provide those programs that provide that additional support. I absolutely acknowledge that there is more to do in this area, which is why in the budget we have provided an additional $197 million to provide ongoing homelessness support. It is a challenge that requires many areas of government to the task.
Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:31): I am grateful for the Premier’s acknowledgement that the situation has worsened, and my supplementary question is: what then does your government plan to do differently to address this growing homelessness crisis?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:31): I think the member for Ringwood may perhaps already know the work that we are doing through our $6.3 billion Big Housing Build to build more homes for vulnerable members of our community, the work we are doing to get homes built – whether they be public housing, community housing or housing in the private market – more quickly, which is why shaking up the planning system with the reforms we have worked on, led by the planning minister, is just so important. It is also why, can I say too – and I made these comments yesterday – that I think we need a compassionate approach, which is not what we have seen from the City of Port Phillip this week, where they have taken a very different approach which is not a compassionate pathway. We need to look at bringing all those elements of government together to provide those services to continue to address this challenge, and one key way of doing it is of course building more homes.